tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25024087530161806002018-08-28T19:59:58.473+02:00my random thoughts that are more than 140 charactersFather to <a href="http://twitter.com/jdolgy">Jack</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/MiaDolgy">Mia</a>, Husband to <a href="http://twitter.com/ldolgy">Lucy</a>, lazy innovator and advocate of working smart -- with a deep passion for ice hockey
<p><ul><li><a href="http://twitter.com/sdolgy">@sdolgy on twitter</a></li><li><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/sdolgy">@sdolgy on LinkedIn</a></li></ul></p>Sasha Dolgyhttps://plus.google.com/106094347685237698945noreply@blogger.comBlogger125125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502408753016180600.post-65697168294186318432014-06-28T00:30:00.002+02:002014-06-28T00:30:51.481+02:00Updating the Nexus 5 to Adroid L<br /><br /><ol><li>I needed to update the USB drivers and found them here: &nbsp;http://developer.android.com/sdk/win-usb.html -- without it, the phone would not work with adb / fastboot</li><li>adb reboot-bootloader (reboots your phone into fastboot mode -- works if #1 works!)</li><li>fastboot devices (shows you the phone connected hopefully if #1 works!)</li><li>fastboot oem unlock (as the device is locked by default -- )</li><ol><li>Funnily, or maybe not, it deletes everything on the phone when you chose this option</li><li>For reference, it took 45 seconds to wipe my Nexus&nbsp;</li></ol></ol><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">C:\Users\sd&gt;fastboot oem unlock<br />...<br />OKAY [ 45.840s]<br />finished. total time: 45.847s</blockquote>If you want some photos, check out this page: &nbsp;http://www.droid-life.com/2013/11/04/how-to-unlock-the-nexus-5-bootloader/<br /><ol><li>Go to the folder where you have extracted / <a href="http://developer.android.com/preview/setup-sdk.html" target="_blank">downloaded Android "L"</a>&nbsp;</li><li>Run: &nbsp;flash-all</li><li>Here is the output I had</li></ol><div><blockquote>sending 'bootloader' (2508 KB)...<br />OKAY [ &nbsp;0.326s]<br />writing 'bootloader'...<br />OKAY [ &nbsp;0.467s]<br />finished. total time: 0.806s<br />rebooting into bootloader...<br />OKAY [ &nbsp;0.087s]<br />finished. total time: 0.093s<br />sending 'radio' (45505 KB)...<br />OKAY [ &nbsp;2.036s]<br />writing 'radio'...<br />OKAY [ &nbsp;3.107s]<br />finished. total time: 5.160s<br />rebooting into bootloader...<br />OKAY [ &nbsp;0.080s]<br />finished. total time: 0.086s<br />archive does not contain 'boot.sig'<br />archive does not contain 'recovery.sig'<br />archive does not contain 'system.sig'<br />archive does not contain 'tos.img'<br />Creating filesystem with parameters:<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Size: 29236371456<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Block size: 4096<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Blocks per group: 32768<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Inodes per group: 8192<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Inode size: 256<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Journal blocks: 32768<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Label:<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Blocks: 7137786<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Block groups: 218<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Reserved block group size: 1024<br />Created filesystem with 11/1785856 inodes and 156120/7137786 blocks<br />Creating filesystem with parameters:<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Size: 734003200<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Block size: 4096<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Blocks per group: 32768<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Inodes per group: 7472<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Inode size: 256<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Journal blocks: 2800<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Label:<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Blocks: 179200<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Block groups: 6<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Reserved block group size: 47<br />Created filesystem with 11/44832 inodes and 5813/179200 blocks<br />--------------------------------------------<br />Bootloader Version...: HHZ11k<br />Baseband Version.....: M8974A-2.0.50.2.08<br />Serial Number........: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX<br />--------------------------------------------<br />checking product...<br />OKAY [ &nbsp;0.100s]<br />checking version-bootloader...<br />OKAY [ &nbsp;0.079s]<br />checking version-baseband...<br />OKAY [ &nbsp;0.093s]<br />sending 'boot' (8754 KB)...<br />OKAY [ &nbsp;0.536s]<br />writing 'boot'...<br />OKAY [ &nbsp;0.750s]<br />sending 'recovery' (9412 KB)...<br />OKAY [ &nbsp;0.643s]<br />writing 'recovery'...<br />OKAY [ &nbsp;0.781s]<br />erasing 'system'...<br />OKAY [ &nbsp;1.311s]<br />sending 'system' (683564 KB)...<br />OKAY [ 27.972s]<br />writing 'system'...<br />OKAY [ 46.692s]<br />erasing 'userdata'...<br />OKAY [ 15.515s]<br />sending 'userdata' (139109 KB)...<br />OKAY [ &nbsp;5.937s]<br />writing 'userdata'...<br />OKAY [ &nbsp;9.362s]<br />erasing 'cache'...<br />OKAY [ &nbsp;0.485s]<br />sending 'cache' (13348 KB)...<br />OKAY [ &nbsp;0.756s]<br />writing 'cache'...<br />OKAY [ &nbsp;1.069s]<br />rebooting...<br />finished. total time: 115.481s</blockquote><br />That's it -- cool, eh? <br /><br />What's changed? &nbsp;Well, after the android dude disappears (after install completes), the android colours/balls go flying in a crazy pattern on the boot screen animation. &nbsp;no clue how long this goes for...</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ComeToSasha/~4/nZZiqyRix6Q" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Sasha Dolgyhttps://plus.google.com/106094347685237698945noreply@blogger.com0http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2014/06/updating-nexus-5-to-adroid-l.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502408753016180600.post-74066082058779667302013-08-10T21:02:00.000+02:002013-08-10T21:02:02.930+02:001 year, 1 month and a few days...It would appear that I have neglected this blog for some time. &nbsp;The exact amount of time, approximated to the subject of this post. &nbsp;What's new? &nbsp;What has been going on? &nbsp;Quite a bit ... quite a bit. <br /><br /><ul><li>Celebrated another fantastic wedding anniversary</li><li>Jack had a pretty awesome birthday party -- being born so close to Hallowe'en, it has its benefits</li><li>We had a trip somewhere, a few times</li><ul><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Garda" target="_blank">Lake Garda, Italy</a></li><li>Toronto, Canada</li><li>New York</li><li>Las Vegas</li></ul><li>Played a lot of ice hockey in the '12-'13 season with the <a href="http://dental-flyers.ch/" target="_blank">Dental Flyers</a></li></ul><div>A lot of the events and adventures posted above were recorded with pictures and various videos and posted online --&nbsp;</div><div><ul><li><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/106094347685237698945" target="_blank">Picasa web album</a></li><li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/sdolgy" target="_blank">Youtube channel</a></li></ul><div>Over the next few weeks, I will try to start posting again to here -- mixing it up between life relevant stuff, tech. stuff ( i haven't dropped out of tech ...! ) and well, anything else really.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Long story short, we're still here, and we're all fantastic!</span></b></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ComeToSasha/~4/wmDOHcVRz5o" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Sasha Dolgyhttps://plus.google.com/106094347685237698945noreply@blogger.com0http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2013/08/1-year-1-month-and-few-days.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502408753016180600.post-48239988799390275282012-07-01T10:54:00.000+02:002012-07-01T10:54:31.465+02:00Hello Galaxy, Part 2After my <a href="http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2012/07/hello-galaxy.html">previous post</a>, a few other things have popped up regarding my Galaxy S3:<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><ul><li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">[B] </span></b>Unable to view/find any 5Ghz wireless networks. &nbsp;I have a Linksys E4200 with&nbsp; <span style="text-align: right;">Firmware:&nbsp;</span><span style="text-align: right;">DD-WRT v24-sp2 (06/14/11) mega installed. &nbsp;I have 3 networks broadcast. &nbsp;1 for BG mixed, 1 for N only (5Ghz) and 1 for guests. &nbsp;</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: right;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b style="color: red;">[B]&nbsp;</b>Cannot connect via USB to browse files. &nbsp;Apparently I need to install Samsung Kies. &nbsp;If you've ever done that in the past ( i have ... ) You'll know that is the <i>worst decision you could ever make</i>&nbsp;-- Kies is HORRIBLE. &nbsp;I've resulted to ejecting the MicroSD card from the phone, and reading it on my laptop to write files that way....</span></span></span></li></ul><br /><br /><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ComeToSasha/~4/6qWeGCWY4cs" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Sasha Dolgyhttps://plus.google.com/106094347685237698945noreply@blogger.com0http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2012/07/hello-galaxy-part-2.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502408753016180600.post-76547825751401401732012-07-01T09:51:00.002+02:002012-07-01T09:51:33.608+02:00Hello Galaxy.2 years ago, in a country far far away (Qatar) I purchased my first Samsung Galaxy S. &nbsp;At the time, I thought it was one of the best phones I have ever had. &nbsp;I had a blackberry before and this was a world of difference. &nbsp;Sleek, feature rich and fun. &nbsp;Capturing some great moments, like Jack growing up, were so easy and the Android experience was pretty awesome. &nbsp;Take a photo, or video, and upload it to picasa or youtube without any hassle. &nbsp;Compare that with a blackberry experience -- there was no comparison.<br /><br />Fast forward 23 months (last week) and I have purchased and received the new Galaxy S3. &nbsp;We didn't just purchase one. &nbsp;We being the family -- we purchased 2. &nbsp;Lucy had a Samsung Ace. &nbsp;A white one and a "pebble blue" one. <br /><br />Lucy received hers near on 2 weeks ago. &nbsp;Maybe more. &nbsp;What a difference! &nbsp;The Ace was archived immediately. &nbsp;Her experience with Android went up 300% -- and she's non-tech. <br /><br />I on the other hand, received my mobile some 40 days after ordering it .. near on 2 weeks once they started shipping in Europe. &nbsp;Pebble Blue. &nbsp;After using it for the past 4 days, my thoughts:<br /><br /><br /><ul><li><span style="color: lime;"><b>[G]</b> </span>Best phone I've ever owned. &nbsp;The Galaxy S was super quick compared to the Ace. &nbsp;The Galaxy S3 shows me how slow and HEAVY the Galaxy S is/was. &nbsp;</li><li><span style="color: red;"><b>[B] </b></span>The power button on mine has "stuck" once -- forcing the phone into a reboot cycle. &nbsp;Not sure if it's the case or something more sinister. &nbsp;It's only happened once. &nbsp;Could be, the Galaxy S3 is a bit more fragile compared to the Galaxy S. &nbsp;A bit more finesse and loving touch, and the problem hasn't resurfaced.</li><li><b style="color: red;">[B]&nbsp;</b>There is a slight defect on the back cover. &nbsp;If you read about the pebble blue delays, you'll know that these were all redone due to quality issues. &nbsp;The defect, although very slight, you can still feel it. &nbsp;It is similar to a Braille character. &nbsp;I'll live with it and doesn't bother me. &nbsp;</li><li><b style="color: lime;">[G]</b>&nbsp;Battery life is pretty nice compared to the Galaxy S. &nbsp;On a normal day, with 3G enabled, playing music and using it -- I consume about 40% of the battery. &nbsp;With the Galaxy S, I consumed 100% in the same amount of time.</li><li><b style="color: lime;">[G]</b>&nbsp;Over the wire upgrading works. &nbsp;This feature never worked for me on the Galaxy S. &nbsp;When I started up the S3, I was notified about a software update -- and it worked! &nbsp;</li><li><b style="color: lime;">[G]</b>&nbsp;I'll mention the camera. &nbsp;When buying a new phone, the expectation is that it is better than the last. &nbsp;The camera (video and still images) is far superior to the previous versions -- as expected.</li></ul><div>Still getting used to it, but overall, as in my first point, it is the best phone I've ever had. &nbsp;It pushes the iPhone now to grow up. &nbsp;This is lighter, brighter and nicer ...&nbsp;</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ComeToSasha/~4/k78KqE0eviU" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Sasha Dolgyhttps://plus.google.com/106094347685237698945noreply@blogger.com0http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2012/07/hello-galaxy.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502408753016180600.post-83070833512627302162012-01-01T12:52:00.000+01:002012-01-01T12:59:17.842+01:002012, bring it.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1ONRB4uqq-w/TwBI8_9_l-I/AAAAAAAARQg/m1zvfC1GenI/s320/DSC00151.JPG" style="clear: both; float: left; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 0px;" /><span style="font-family: inherit;">2012 is here. &nbsp;Lucy and I celebrated our first New Year's Eve in Zurich with Chinese take-away and &nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxemburgerli">Luxemburgerli </a>from&nbsp;</span>Lindt &amp; Sprüngli -- The only kind we had purchased were the Champagne ones. <br /><br />The Chinese take-away was by far, one of the better ones we had had. &nbsp;However, when comparing the price of it to what it costs in the UK, or even back home in Canada ... not sure the value was there. &nbsp;Still, this is where we decided to live ... so this is what we live with. $125.00 for two people. &nbsp;We didn't have a lot of food ... !<br /><br /><a href="http://jack.dolgy.com/">Jack's blog</a> is up to date with some new photos ... It's now 1300hr on New Year's Day and I'm taking Jack to Thalwil for his 2nd go at ice skating. &nbsp;His last attempt, on Christmas Eve was excellent. &nbsp;He managed to pull himself up off the ice and stand up on his own ... and waddle along like a penguin. <br /><br />2012 is exciting for us. &nbsp;Jack will turn 3. &nbsp;My Grandmother and Lucy's Nan will turn 94 and we have the wedding of Ninj to see to .. all 2 of his weddings. &nbsp;So far, the first quarter of 2012, even with the extra day, will be super busy with fun things!<br /><br />Happy new year to you and yours ... from the Dolgy's in Switzerland.<br /><br /><div style="clear: both; text-align: LEFT;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img align="middle" alt="Posted by Picasa" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" style="-moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; border: 0px none; padding: 0px;" /></a></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ComeToSasha/~4/Xt8Asj54S00" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Sasha Dolgyhttps://plus.google.com/106094347685237698945noreply@blogger.com0http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2012/01/2012-bring-it.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502408753016180600.post-2430250575195925482011-12-12T11:24:00.001+01:002011-12-16T09:57:45.702+01:00#Know11 -- Service Now ConferenceFor those who follow me on <a href="http://twitter.com/sdolgy">twitter</a> and elsewhere, you may have found out (through many many tweets) that I have been out of the office the past two weeks for work.&nbsp; 7 or 8 airports over the course of two weeks!&nbsp; Not many people get excited by that.<br /><br />I presented at the <a href="https://k11.service-now.com/">Knowledge 11</a> Conference for <a href="http://www.service-now.com/">ServiceNow!</a> on December 8, 2011.&nbsp; It was nice to be able to share some of the success stories we are developing here at <a href="http://www.swissre.com/">Swiss Re</a> related to IT Service Management.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XEduv_JYh58/TuXnQIFZgEI/AAAAAAAARNw/nP0-6m6glyE/s1600/IMG_1565.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XEduv_JYh58/TuXnQIFZgEI/AAAAAAAARNw/nP0-6m6glyE/s320/IMG_1565.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />The presentation was with one of our colleagues (exceptional chap) from Infosys, Subbarao Chaganty about the concept and IT Capability we developed around "Task Management" in ServiceNow!<br /><br />Some people will tout the values of <a href="http://wiki.service-now.com/index.php?title=Runbook_Automation">Runbook Automation</a> in ServiceNow.&nbsp; I think they've done a great job at developing something cool ... but it really is only applicable in circumstances where you have a fully repeatable end-to-end process you can automate.&nbsp; After working in this space for almost 10 years (automation related to IT services and infrastructure) it's a daunting and often impossible task to get buy in from all of the key stakeholders to support the <b>documentation</b>, agree to an end to end process, and the subsidiary tasks --- all are strong requirements before you can automate fully and properly.<br /><br />How did we differentiate ourselves so that we can contribute value back to the business?<br /><br />You'll have to wait and see ... The presentation should be available online at some point in time:&nbsp; <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/servicenowdotcom/tag/knowledge11-europe">http://www.slideshare.net/servicenowdotcom/tag/knowledge11-europe</a><br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/servicenowdotcom/8-b07-dolgydriving-task-mgmt-efficiencies-final">"Driving Task Management Efficiencies"</a>&nbsp;&nbsp; </li></ul><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ComeToSasha/~4/yMCSftQEa-k" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Sasha Dolgyhttps://plus.google.com/106094347685237698945noreply@blogger.com0Moselstraße 12, 60329 Frankfurt, Germany50.1070622 8.668198750.0968782 8.6484577 50.117246200000004 8.6879397http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2011/12/know11-service-now-conference.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502408753016180600.post-60881110379085886762011-10-17T22:29:00.003+02:002011-10-17T22:29:38.535+02:006 days to go....@jdolgyJack turns two in less than a week. &nbsp;I thought I'd take a non-technical interlude to reflect. &nbsp;Two years ago now ... Lucy had encountered a few problems with the pregnancy and I'd rushed her super duper quick (i broke a few traffic laws) to <a href="http://www.ahlihospital.com/">Al-Ahli Hospital</a> in Doha, Qatar. <br /><br />For those who are new to reading this and that, I had this fantastic idea 30 months ago to move my wife who was six months pregnant to Doha for what was sold as an<b> epic work adventure </b>in "thought leadership" and a genuine opportunity to work on some pretty neat things. <br /><br />We have a lot of fond memories from our time in Doha, especially the ones that happened the week <i>after </i>October 24, 2009. &nbsp;Jack was born on the 24th via emergency c-section. &nbsp;A little over 5lbs. &nbsp;Not bad for being 2 months early! &nbsp;He spent 5 days in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neonatal_intensive_care_unit">NICU</a>&nbsp;and neither of us could hold him that entire time. &nbsp;On the 5th day, they said right ... Lucy, discharged. &nbsp;Jack, discharged <b>IF</b>&nbsp;we could bottle feed him. &nbsp;ha ha. <br /><br />A lot of people told us before, during and after, how time flies ... It really has. &nbsp;Jack is a proper boy now ... full weight, full menace. &nbsp;Terrible 2's have started early and he fully enjoys testing the limits of Lucy. &nbsp;He's trying to find his boundaries and is enjoying each and every minute of it. <br /><br />Here is Jack from Yesterday:<br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Jj4bjY0XUDQ" width="420"></iframe><br /><br />I had written a bit on his blog the other day too. &nbsp;<a href="http://jack.dolgy.com/">http://jack.dolgy.com/</a><br /><br />Anyway ... the next post will be back to uber geeking. &nbsp;Just thought I'd duck out while my computer is being rebuilt and leave some candid thoughts..<br /><br /><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ComeToSasha/~4/njP_kgj6foc" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Sasha Dolgyhttps://plus.google.com/106094347685237698945noreply@blogger.com0http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2011/10/6-days-to-gojdolgy.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502408753016180600.post-55820329977423780362011-10-14T21:44:00.002+02:002011-10-14T21:44:30.549+02:00Ubuntu 11.04 -> 11.10<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">July 2, 2011: &nbsp;</span><br /><br />I swapped to Ubuntu from Windows. &nbsp;What a great experience. &nbsp;So good, here is the link to <a href="http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2011/07/swapped-to-ubuntu.html">the original blog post</a> and a nice ubuntu graphic. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D7mDWXa1mHA/TpiQWhLCLYI/AAAAAAAAQ3Q/a1no1dPUEls/s1600/ubuntu_screenshot.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D7mDWXa1mHA/TpiQWhLCLYI/AAAAAAAAQ3Q/a1no1dPUEls/s1600/ubuntu_screenshot.png" /></a></div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">October 14, 2011:</span> <br /><br />To my surprise, my computer prompts me to upgrade to 11.10. &nbsp;Fancy. &nbsp;New. &nbsp;Minor changes. &nbsp;"Cosmetic". &nbsp;Well, you know what? &nbsp;The upgrade didn't work so well. &nbsp;Why? &nbsp;Well, <a href="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/dbus/+bug/811441">[ Bug 811441 ]</a>&nbsp;reported on July16, 2011, is why. <br /><br />I followed one of the suggested fixes. &nbsp;Basically, moving all contents of /var/run and /var/lock to /run and /run/lock ... removing /var/run and /var/lock and then creating sym links from /run and /run/lock to /var/run and /var/lock ... That's how I'm online now, writing this rant. <br /><br />Reading the bug report, it feels as though, my next reboot will cause me to have the same problems again. &nbsp;Honestly. &nbsp;This is why Linux has never been able to catch up with Microsoft or Mac ... a normal user who doesn't have resources and a knack for typing and hacking will never, in technical terms, unfuck themselves ... or at least their system. <br /><br />At what point will developers do proper regression testing and QA before something is unleashed publicly as an official release? <br /><br />For as much as I don't enjoy Windows ... I never had these problems. &nbsp;Ever. &nbsp;That's something to admire ...<br /><br />On the flip side, with Fedora, RedHat previously and now Ubuntu ... it's just one nasty fart under the sheets after another that leaves a bitter taste in my mouth and sours the overall experience that was going so well...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ComeToSasha/~4/x9D9qTTMLdE" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Sasha Dolgyhttps://plus.google.com/106094347685237698945noreply@blogger.com0http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2011/10/ubuntu-1104-1110.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502408753016180600.post-88519452134704843502011-09-28T19:57:00.001+02:002011-09-28T19:57:02.878+02:00FC Bayern Munich vs Manchester City FC<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Been there, done that. &nbsp;It's been some years, but the opportunity finally arose where I could watch a live professional football match. &nbsp;Imagine my surprise when I found out it was a UEFA champions league match ... nice. &nbsp;</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The game was in Munich. &nbsp;I live in Zurich. &nbsp;Train to Munich from here takes 6 hours. &nbsp;Driving, 3 hours. &nbsp;Flying ... too much $$&nbsp;</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I drove. &nbsp;Of course. &nbsp;Headed out Monday evening and arrived in Munich just in time to grab a few pints with a former colleague. &nbsp;The next day ... game day ... a lot of MCFC supporters were flying in. &nbsp;4 of them met up with us at the&nbsp;<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://www.hofbraeuhaus.de/">Hofbräuhaus</a>&nbsp;... here we had some food and beer. &nbsp;Unfortunately, the night before I had a bad beer. &nbsp;So bad in fact, it joins only one other beer on the banned list. &nbsp;</span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">Beer Banned List:</span></span><br /><br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.molsoncoors.com/en/Brands/Global%20Portfolio/Worthingtons%20Creamflow.aspx">Worthingtons Creamflow</a></li><li><a href="http://www.radeberger.de/index_en.html">Radeberger Pilsner</a></li></ul><div>The beer gave me the worst heart burn and hiccups. &nbsp;They continued all day on Tuesday that I did not participate all that much in the festivities. &nbsp;Shame really. &nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Game:</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Ok ... I don't get football. &nbsp;I don't really watch it on TV by choice. &nbsp;I will, however, join people who watch it as the atmosphere is interesting and entertaining. &nbsp;The way people can string a half dozen profanities into a sentence that works and is amusing ... why not! &nbsp;Usually makes a lot of sense too. &nbsp;A lost skill. &nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>The stadium, Allianz, is quite impressive. &nbsp;Here's a panoramic from inside:</div><div><br /></div><div><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/A-jH4CzBzq3B3vXqTGXgRQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="21" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-uGkJmTAS4Qg/ToNc_9sjQVI/AAAAAAAAQ10/c_rK3KtBoX4/s144/2011-09-27%25252019.11.59.jpg" width="144" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/sdolgy/September2011?authuser=0&amp;feat=embedwebsite">Panoramic @ Allianz Stadium</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div>In the end ... City lost. &nbsp;2-0 ... Shame ... but on the positive ... it's sometimes nice to be at a home stadium when the home team wins ... you get a real feel for the vibe. &nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>After the game, as I hadn't had any drinks the entire day due to the hiccups ... I opted to get in the car and boot it back to Zurich ... deviating from the original plan of staying Tuesday night and heading back Wednesday morning. &nbsp;I'm not a morning person. &nbsp;I can stay up late without trying ... and traffic is less at night than it is in the morning ... arrived home at 2am. &nbsp;3 hours non-stop in the car with me and the hiccups ... it's brutal. &nbsp;BRUTAL ... That beer that caused it will forever live in the bowels of the beer list ... it's so bad it'll always be last on the bad beer list ...</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>There is something for next time. &nbsp;I went to Munich during Oktoberfest and DIDN'T go to a beer tent .. means I have to go back sometime in the future to try Oktoberfest proper...</div><div><br /></div><div>-sd</div><div><br /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ComeToSasha/~4/rnFyPzUqqLE" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Sasha Dolgyhttps://plus.google.com/106094347685237698945noreply@blogger.com0http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2011/09/fc-bayern-munich-vs-manchester-city-fc.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502408753016180600.post-71347871662312427372011-08-27T14:36:00.000+02:002011-08-27T14:36:09.276+02:00updating the Samsung GalaxyS in Ubuntu with heimdallA while ago I opted to drop Windows 7 and move back to a *nix variant. &nbsp;Ubuntu was the one. &nbsp;One big issue I had was with regards to my phone. &nbsp;I am constantly upgrading the firmware on it, and the only way to do it was via Odin in Windows. <br /><br />If you want to root your Galaxy S, here's a good page, but it's not good if you don't have Odin: &nbsp;<a href="http://androidflip.com/how-to-root-samsung-galaxy-s-running-xxjvr-android-2-3-4-gingebread/">http://androidflip.com/how-to-root-samsung-galaxy-s-running-xxjvr-android-2-3-4-gingebread/</a><br /><ol><li>I downloaded the&nbsp;<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">“CF-Root-XX_OXA_JVR-v4.1-CWM3RFS.tar”</strong></span></li>
<li>Extracted it which left me with a zImage file</li>
<li>Ran the command: &nbsp;<i>heimdall flash --kernel zImage</i></li>
</ol><br />&nbsp;Simple. &nbsp;Right? &nbsp;Well, what if you wanted to upgrade the full OS on your Galaxy S to something like uh, Gingerbread ... (2.3.4) or even (3) when it comes out? &nbsp; Same principle really, just a few more arguments for heimdall. &nbsp;I came across this on the site: &nbsp;<a href="http://wmarkito.wordpress.com/2011/02/11/flashing-android-froyo-in-a-galaxy-s-with-ubuntu-and-heimdall/">http://wmarkito.wordpress.com/2011/02/11/flashing-android-froyo-in-a-galaxy-s-with-ubuntu-and-heimdall/</a><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #555555; font-family: monospace; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">heimdall flash --factoryfs factoryfs.rfs --cache cache.rfs&nbsp; --param param.lfs --kernel zImage --modem modem.bin --pit s1_odin_20100512.pit</span><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ComeToSasha/~4/yCK8Gzi-J-A" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Sasha Dolgyhttps://plus.google.com/106094347685237698945noreply@blogger.com0http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2011/08/updating-samsung-galaxys-in-ubuntu-with.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502408753016180600.post-29517638516342013582011-07-15T20:51:00.002+02:002011-07-15T20:51:57.152+02:00some stackoverflow.com flair!I can't resist<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://stackoverflow.com/users/615282/sdolgy"></a><br /><a href="http://stackoverflow.com/users/615282/sdolgy"><img alt="profile for sdolgy at Stack Overflow, Q&amp;A for professional and enthusiast programmers" height="58" src="http://stackoverflow.com/users/flair/615282.png" title="profile for sdolgy at Stack Overflow, Q&amp;A for professional and enthusiast programmers" width="208" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /></div><div>I've been using <a href="http://stackoverflow.com/">StackOverflow.com</a> quite a bit over the past few weeks. &nbsp;Similar to a car accident happening before your eyes ... the amount of amusement I get out of some of the questions is brilliant. &nbsp;</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ComeToSasha/~4/fYj34suNV6c" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Sasha Dolgyhttps://plus.google.com/106094347685237698945noreply@blogger.com0http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2011/07/some-stackoverflowcom-flair.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502408753016180600.post-41394430898488716532011-07-02T01:57:00.000+02:002011-07-02T01:57:08.431+02:00Swapped to UbuntuOver the past few weeks, I have noticed that my Windows 7 laptop was performing worse and worse. &nbsp;Today, after having it lock up well after 3&nbsp;separate&nbsp;reboots, I had had enough. &nbsp;I went and grabbed 2 USB keys, and the 2TB drive I have kicking around. <br /><br /><ol><li>Made a USB boot of 11.04 Ubuntu</li><li>Made a USB boot of Windows 7 Premium</li><li>Backed everything up that I had ....</li></ol><div>I have to admit, the Ubuntu install was the fastest, cleanest and easiest of all the ones I've tried. &nbsp;I have been a die hard Fedora fan for years. &nbsp;The last version I installed was Fedora V12. &nbsp;I believe 15 is out now. &nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>Of course ... having said that, there are some things that remind me why I continually drift back to Windows as my primary operating system after a few weeks / months of gradual frustration:</div><div><ul><li>I have a touch pad on my laptop. &nbsp;I hate it. &nbsp;It's a Lenovo ... I have a nice track ball. &nbsp;I LOVE IT. &nbsp;Problem is, disabling the touch pad isn't as simple as right clicking somewhere and doing something. &nbsp;You have to install another application that does this and that ... or you can edit the X11.conf ... yeah, not today. &nbsp;Thanks.</li><li>I am extremely cautious to only install "stuff" from the Ubuntu Software Center. &nbsp;I have absolutely no issues downloading crap, compiling it and installing it ... however, I want to see how long I can last without fundamentally making changes to what's going on underneath this pretty facade. &nbsp;Which brings me to my next gripe. &nbsp;The software I want, doesn't exist. &nbsp;For 10 years, it has been this continuous battle I've had deep down about passion versus productivity ... seems you can have both ...?</li><li>Exchange 2010 connectivity. &nbsp;I have my Samsung Galaxy S (Android) configured to connect to my Exchange server and get emails and calendar and all that. &nbsp;In a full blown operating system (Ubuntu 11.04) I cannot. &nbsp;I have tried Evolution. &nbsp;I have tried Zimbra. &nbsp;It's sad really. &nbsp;Sad and pathetic that a little phone can out function and out feature my all mightly laptop and operating system. &nbsp;Guess what? &nbsp;This is a reminder to future generations why iPods / iPads and smart phones are taking over ... they work. &nbsp;they just work.&nbsp;</li></ul><div>What about some good?</div></div><div><ul><li>Multi-screen display, and HDMI are working beautifully.</li><li>Performance is what I had expected ... Fantastic. &nbsp;I now have a Windows 7 VM running while I have my development environment running in another CentOS VM. &nbsp;At the same time, my Ubuntu experience is not slowing down and is not chewing away memory ...&nbsp;</li><li>Hardware support. &nbsp;If you have experience with Linux, and Red Hat....going back over the years, getting the right level of support for your hardware was horrible. &nbsp;It's only just recently I've forgotten what the chip-set was on the network card for my old computer ... the reason why it was etched into my brain? &nbsp;very poor support ... compiling kernel modules, trying fancy things that didn't work ... it was a nightmare. &nbsp;EVERYTHING on my Lenovo laptop works. &nbsp;Bluetooth, wireless, camera, touchpad :(, trackball, HDMI ... That's super..</li></ul><div>That's all for now. &nbsp;Back to grinding out some more code and "stuff"</div></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ComeToSasha/~4/vhpKx0ZMfus" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Sasha Dolgyhttps://plus.google.com/106094347685237698945noreply@blogger.com1http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2011/07/swapped-to-ubuntu.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502408753016180600.post-75637055986656408822011-06-06T22:08:00.001+02:002011-06-15T12:43:20.340+02:00Weekend in England<div><p>It wasnt just a weekend in England....it was a weekend ALL over England.</p><p>Landed at London City which is fantastic if you want to be in the city.&#160; Instead, DLR and tube to Euston to get a train to Birmingham International and then the 30min drive to the in-laws and Jack.</p><p>The next day (Friday), back to International to pick up a rental and drive down to Midhurst and a wedding on Saturday at Cowdray ruins.&#160; </p><p>Sunday it was up super early to drive to our newest niece's Christening...to which Lucy and I are Godparents.&#160; This was outside Tamworth.&#160; </p><p>After the Christening....headed back to Four Oaks and then to The Lodge for a wonderful curry.&#160; </p><p>This morning, up early...rental back to International.&#160; Train to London Euston.&#160; Tube &amp; DLR to LCY..flight back to Zurich.</p><p>I'm tired but wanted to show off the happy family in the picture on this post.</p><br/><img src='http://lh4.ggpht.com/-3GHUnYxTUEA/Te0zyw1T7ZI/AAAAAAAAQFE/ZJXW7nqitZE/2011-06-05%25252012.05.43.png' /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ComeToSasha/~4/NYEnxfZUYsk" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Sasha Dolgyhttps://plus.google.com/106094347685237698945noreply@blogger.com0http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2011/06/weekend-in-england.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502408753016180600.post-54519487571270707782011-06-02T10:38:00.000+02:002011-06-02T10:38:50.485+02:00wedding photosnot sure if we ever posted our wedding photos properly on the internet for folks to mock, gawk or whatever.... if not, here you go.<div><br /></div><div><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="288" height="192" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;hl=en_GB&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fsdolgy%2Falbumid%2F5613537157483821425%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_GB" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed></div><div><br /></div><div>Unfiltered. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ComeToSasha/~4/cnJuOP2RV50" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Sasha Dolgyhttps://plus.google.com/106094347685237698945noreply@blogger.com0http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2011/06/wedding-photos.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502408753016180600.post-30963086656774379022011-05-22T10:37:00.000+02:002011-05-22T10:37:06.824+02:00Apache Cassandra & RESTful APIOver the past few months I have been heavily involved in an uber-top-secret nights &amp; weekends project. &nbsp;Is it selling a virtual <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chia_Pet">Chia-Pet</a>? &nbsp;I wish. &nbsp;That would be COOL. &nbsp;Regardless of what it is, I jumped into the 21st century and got on board with the REST of the world. <br /><br />REST: &nbsp;Representational State Transfer: &nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representational_State_Transfer">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representational_State_Transfer</a><br /><br />Without getting into too many details, what I love is how easily I was able to create a REST API that interfaces with Apache Cassandra. &nbsp;I have an API that fully supports PUT / POST / GET / DELETE / SEARCH without having to write all that much code. &nbsp;Admittedly, I did it with <a href="https://github.com/thobbs/phpcassa">phpcassa</a>&nbsp;which may not be the best, most efficient, or whatever .. but I have to say. &nbsp;It works and I rarely touch the code. <br /><br />Some simple concepts I implemented:<br /><br /><ul><li>A resource is a 1:1 mapping to a Cassandra column family. &nbsp;For example:</li><ul><li>http://api.example.com/user/ is a reference to the "user" column family</li></ul><li>The element that follows the resource is a 1:1 mapping to a key in a Cassandra column family</li><ul><li>http://api.example.com/user/sdolgy is a reference to the key "sdolgy" in the column family "user"</li></ul></ul><div>What is great here is that as the design changes or new information is added to Cassandra, I am making no changes to the REST API code. &nbsp;New column families, new keys ... it's all good. &nbsp;Simple. &nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>The only issues I continue to have are the ones around security. &nbsp;This is always an epic or regal battle / debate on the best way to approach and tackle this problem. &nbsp;Some people are big into <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OAuth">OAuth</a>. &nbsp;There are still security concerns over OAuth and even some references to that, despite the big boys (facebook / google / twitter / etc. ) are using it ... it doesn't mean it's more secure or the best way to secure a REST API. &nbsp;For now, I have implemented my own variation and will have to revisit in the future before we launch the online CHIA PET....</div><div><br /></div><div>Here is a good tutorial on creating a PHP REST API if you are keen to get started:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.gen-x-design.com/archives/create-a-rest-api-with-php/">http://www.gen-x-design.com/archives/create-a-rest-api-with-php/</a></div><div><br /></div><div>-sd</div><div><br /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ComeToSasha/~4/Lu3o-UVHuU8" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Sasha Dolgyhttps://plus.google.com/106094347685237698945noreply@blogger.com2http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2011/05/apache-cassandra-restful-api.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502408753016180600.post-56320351616345367552011-05-13T20:22:00.000+02:002011-05-13T20:22:54.626+02:00hong kong or bustsome of you may know, and some of you may not, that i am currently in hong kong. &nbsp;why am i here? &nbsp;that's a very good question. &nbsp;originally, i wasn't supposed to be here. &nbsp;this is the week that the Hong Kong 5's Ice Hockey tournament is on. &nbsp;I had scheduling conflicts at the time of planning a few months ago and opted out ...<br /><br />fast forward to 3 weeks ago and i received an email about a player getting hurt and not being able to play. &nbsp;checked my schedule and some other things and the planets had aligned. &nbsp;this dolgy was going to hong kong. &nbsp;there were some other reasons for the trip too. &nbsp;met up with some old friends and old colleagues i haven't seen in a few years. &nbsp;that was nice.<br /><br />the tournament itself is as always, very well organized. &nbsp;if you ever get a chance ... find Keith Fong at MegaBox and let him know that the tournament is, and you'll find out if you are ever here, one of the best organized tournaments and facilities around. <br /><br />the team this year didn't fair very well. &nbsp;0 wins, 4 losses. &nbsp;2 goals scored. &nbsp;but that's ok. &nbsp;it was still fun. <br /><br />the food here is brilliant. &nbsp;the mtr here is brilliant. &nbsp;i really do enjoy coming here... but it's time to go. &nbsp;i miss this guy:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wgptHBEaaIo/Tc12pYBZs_I/AAAAAAAAPTY/AZ4zcwtEIBA/s1600/jack-sleep-photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wgptHBEaaIo/Tc12pYBZs_I/AAAAAAAAPTY/AZ4zcwtEIBA/s320/jack-sleep-photo.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />gone a week without seeing or speaking to Lucy and Jack has been very hard. &nbsp;The timing and schedules and all of that haven't worked out ... been insanely busy days of&nbsp;hilarity&nbsp;and&nbsp;hi-jinx<br /><br />British Airways. &nbsp;Take me home. &nbsp; &nbsp;<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ComeToSasha/~4/dc91d5oKlrc" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Sasha Dolgyhttps://plus.google.com/106094347685237698945noreply@blogger.com0http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2011/05/hong-kong-or-bust.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502408753016180600.post-56108765292217610482011-04-05T05:03:00.001+02:002011-04-05T05:03:42.508+02:00Toronto Q1/2011<div><p>We spent the last 9 days in Toronto.&nbsp; here is a photo of us all on our last morning.&nbsp; i look like a goof and ruin the photo....but how awesome do jack and lucy look?&nbsp; </p><p>videos can be seen at:&nbsp; http://youtube.com/sdolgy<br>photos are on picasa:&nbsp; google search picasa sdolgy</p><p>highlights from the trip:</p><p>- $7.00 for 1 week of smartphone data plan on rogers<br>- jack used a straw for the first time<br>- jack said the word 'car'<br>- uncle jake and jack got on very well...nice to.see</p><br/><img src='http://lh3.ggpht.com/_dfNJyZB-INU/TZqGjEp4MfI/AAAAAAAAO5g/k6V4idbdsHA/March_2011_013.png' /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ComeToSasha/~4/fK9O7WzLEyA" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Sasha Dolgyhttps://plus.google.com/106094347685237698945noreply@blogger.com0http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2011/04/toronto-q12011.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502408753016180600.post-23283296970009915192011-03-18T19:25:00.000+01:002011-03-18T19:25:19.540+01:002006, thanks for saving me some time.Tonight, I was trying to get subversion to work. &nbsp;Normally, this isn't an issue ... except when you are tunnelling through SSH and SSH is on a non-standard port. &nbsp;The default port is 22. &nbsp;If you aren't using that, subversion is a little mental. &nbsp;The solution? <br /><br /><a href="http://peat.wordpress.com/2006/09/08/subversion-alternate-ssh-ports/">http://peat.wordpress.com/2006/09/08/subversion-alternate-ssh-ports/</a><br /><br />So nice. &nbsp;Now it works.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ComeToSasha/~4/9zAb3nCyE_0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Sasha Dolgyhttps://plus.google.com/106094347685237698945noreply@blogger.com0http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2011/03/2006-thanks-for-saving-me-some-time.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502408753016180600.post-21261344142868302192011-03-15T21:23:00.000+01:002011-03-15T21:23:08.647+01:00how awesome is jack?awesome. &nbsp;i have been posting on Jack's blog, but not a lot on mine, related to all of us. &nbsp;as such, some people may &nbsp;(if you care) have been missing out on all the photos and videos. &nbsp;each month I have been uploading photographs straight to my picasa account:<br /><br /><br /><table style="width: 194px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="background: url(https:///s/c/transparent_album_background.gif) no-repeat left; height: 194px;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/sdolgy/March2011?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="160" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_dfNJyZB-INU/TW10ZsyGLUE/AAAAAAAAOf0/uKd4GvkU8EU/s160-c/March2011.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0 0 4px;" width="160" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/sdolgy/March2011?feat=embedwebsite" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">March 2011</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />above are the photos for march. &nbsp;you'll see some good photos, some decent photos and some awesome photos of jack with his new audi...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ComeToSasha/~4/S4zpc_-O8ks" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Sasha Dolgyhttps://plus.google.com/106094347685237698945noreply@blogger.com0http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2011/03/how-awesome-is-jack.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502408753016180600.post-33920879804212461772011-03-11T10:11:00.000+01:002011-03-11T10:11:11.559+01:00i love ice hockey ... but...Air Canada published a letter to the NHL following a hit the other night during the Montreal / Boston game: <blockquote>"From a corporate social responsibility standpoint, it is becoming increasingly difficult to associate our brand with sports events which could lead to serious and irresponsible accidents; action must be taken by the NHL before we are encountered with a fatality,"</blockquote><a href="http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/nhl/article/952137--air-canada-tells-nhl-to-take-off">http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/nhl/article/952137--air-canada-tells-nhl-to-take-off</a><br /><br />Normally, I am not a fan of Air Canada, but this is great.&nbsp; <br /><br />I love hockey, and like others, I am sitting around, waiting (not by choice) to hear news of a fatality in the NHL.&nbsp; <br /><br />With a little boy who will one day play ice hockey -- he has no choice in this matter -- it's important that he grows up aware of the good and bad.&nbsp; Growing up, I knew all too well how devestating checking from behind is.&nbsp; This was rampant in the late 80's and 90's ... Now, it's rare to see and it's great.&nbsp; Kids grow up knowing its bad and it promotes better behaviour.&nbsp; Sure, some kids will never get it...that's just life.&nbsp; Some people grow up to be murderers.&nbsp; We can't fix everyone ... <br /><br />For me, I want Jack to grow up knowing right from wrong.&nbsp; I believe fights and hitting must exist in ice hockey ... but deliberate intents to injure ... WWE styles ... they have no place.&nbsp; If your hit or actions are good enough to get on a Don Cherry -- Rock em' Sock em' video ... I think you have overstepped the boundaries.&nbsp; <br /><br />Well done Air Canada for stepping up.&nbsp;<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ComeToSasha/~4/fvVnqxp_Pco" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Sasha Dolgyhttps://plus.google.com/106094347685237698945noreply@blogger.com0http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2011/03/i-love-ice-hockey-but.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502408753016180600.post-89758532763926804232011-03-10T20:34:00.000+01:002011-03-10T20:34:16.875+01:00HipHop-PHPWhere do I begin on this one. &nbsp;Over the past 12 or so years, I have always enjoyed PHP. &nbsp;Despite it's failings, I still prefer to prototype and throw together web applications with it, over anything else. &nbsp;Sometimes I come up with something pretty cool. &nbsp;Often, this is for a friend. &nbsp;Although I am happy to give them that cool thing, sometimes I regret giving away the intellectual property. <br /><br /><a href="https://github.com/facebook/hiphop-php/">https://github.com/facebook/hiphop-php/</a><br /><br /><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, freesans, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">"HipHop for&nbsp;<span class="caps" style="line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">PHP</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, freesans, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, freesans, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">transforms</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, freesans, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, freesans, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="caps" style="line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">PHP</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, freesans, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, freesans, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">source code into highly optimized C++. It was developed by Facebook and was released as open source in early 2010."</span></blockquote>Much to my surprise, tonight, I downloaded, configured, installed and tested. &nbsp;It all worked, first pass. &nbsp;No tinkering, no nothing.<br /><br />Second, I took the most complex PHP project I have, with lots of different dependencies and pushed it through. Guess what?<br /><br />It works. &nbsp;It really works. <br /><br />Awesome.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ComeToSasha/~4/0XQ5foGpl5I" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Sasha Dolgyhttps://plus.google.com/106094347685237698945noreply@blogger.com0http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2011/03/hiphop-php.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502408753016180600.post-72104197297647487762011-03-09T20:03:00.001+01:002011-03-09T20:40:14.504+01:00Apache Cassandra & nodetoolToday I was playing around with a cluster of 3. &nbsp;How can I have new apache cassandra instances join and leave and allow the cluster add/remove to function somewhat autonmous. &nbsp;Joining is not a problem. &nbsp;The auto-bootstrap feature works a treat. &nbsp;Leaving on the other hand.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">$CASSANDRA_HOME/bin/nodetool -h 10.0.0.1 decommission</span><br /><br />As I understand, when this is run, the node will stream all it's data out to other nodes in the cluster and remove itself. <br /><br />When I view the ring from another node:<br /><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">10.0.0.1 &nbsp; &nbsp;Down &nbsp; Leaving 218.71 KB &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 21.76% &nbsp;61078635599166706937511052402724559481</span><br /><div><br /></div><div>I see this message. &nbsp;Great ... but after an hour of waiting, I give up and try to force the removal of the token:</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">nodetool -h 10.0.0.2 removetoken 61078635599166706937511052402724559481</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Exception in thread "main" java.lang.UnsupportedOperationException: Node /10.0.0.1 is already being removed.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Ok then... this is interesting: &nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">nodetool -h 10.0.0.2 removetoken status</span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">RemovalStatus: No token removals in process.</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div>I don't get it. &nbsp;How do I gracefully remove a node? &nbsp;Finally, I killed the node on 10.0.0.1 and removed it's data. &nbsp;Ungraceful. &nbsp;I then went to the other nodes, still couldn't force it's removal. &nbsp;Started the node back up on 10.0.0.1 and it's rejoined the cluster ... with data spread evenly around. &nbsp;Not exactly what I wanted ... oh well....</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm sure I've missed a concept. &nbsp;So, now that I have a 3 node cluster working and balanced, I turn off cassandra on 10.0.0.1 and check the ring from another node:</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">nodetool -h 10.0.0.2 ring</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">10.0.0.3 &nbsp;Up &nbsp; &nbsp; Normal &nbsp;224.21 KB &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 40.78% &nbsp;24053088190195663439419935163232881936</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">10.0.0.1 &nbsp; &nbsp;Down &nbsp; Normal &nbsp;213.51 KB &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 36.78% &nbsp;86624712919272143003828971968762407027</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">10.0.0.2 &nbsp; &nbsp;Up &nbsp; &nbsp; Normal &nbsp;244.42 KB &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 22.44% &nbsp;124804735337540159479107746638263794797</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Now, to try and remove that node by removing the token:</div><div><br /></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">nodetool -h 10.0.0.1 removetoken 86624712919272143003828971968762407027</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Job done, the node is gone...</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">nodetool -h 10.0.0.2 ring</span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">10.0.0.3 &nbsp;Up &nbsp; &nbsp; Normal &nbsp;224.21 KB &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 40.78% &nbsp;24053088190195663439419935163232881936</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">10.0.0.2 &nbsp; &nbsp;Up &nbsp; &nbsp; Normal &nbsp;244.42 KB &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 59.22% &nbsp;124804735337540159479107746638263794797</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div>-sd<br /><br />-- maybe this is my problem: &nbsp;<a href="https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CASSANDRA-2072">CASSANDRA-2072</a></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ComeToSasha/~4/ouDvvCpIkc0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Sasha Dolgyhttps://plus.google.com/106094347685237698945noreply@blogger.com0http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2011/03/apache-cassandra-nodetool.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502408753016180600.post-5907581687562949942011-03-09T02:48:00.000+01:002011-03-09T02:48:14.258+01:00Security Groups & Amazon Web Services (AWS)It's funny. &nbsp;Been playing with amazon web services quite a bit over the past few weeks and didn't give much attention to security groups. &nbsp;It's only now, after this past weekend have I developed a strong appreciation and respect for them. &nbsp;Some background:<br /><br />The way amazon operates is quite interesting. &nbsp;All instances get a dynamic internal IP. &nbsp;That IP stays for the duration of that machine being on. &nbsp;If you restart, the IP changes. &nbsp;Now, you can pay for an elastic IP which maps to the instance ... and that never changes. &nbsp;But it's mapped. &nbsp;The instance never really knows anything about it. &nbsp;It always has this internal IP .... 10.10.10.10 one day, reboot, 10.20.10.20 the next ....<br /><br />Now, security groups. &nbsp;It's one big glorified access list. &nbsp;You have to specify which security group your instance belongs to. &nbsp;Fair enough. &nbsp;By default, it's deny all. &nbsp;You can start opening things up, saying that 0.0.0.0/0 can access your instance on TCP/80. &nbsp;That means the world can get to that instance on port 80. <br /><br />With me so far?<br /><br />So what if you wanted to deploy a multi-tier LAMP application to AWS:<br /><br />2 x web server<br />2 x application server<br />2 x mysql ....<br /><br />How would the security groups look then? <br /><br />security group 1: &nbsp;web servers<br />security group 2: &nbsp;application servers<br />security group 3: &nbsp;database servers<br /><br />Simple! &nbsp;You then configure your access lists ... right? &nbsp;Sort of. &nbsp;If you want to do it properly, you define that only TCP/80 &amp; TCP/443 are open to 0.0.0.0/0 for security group 1. &nbsp;<br /><br />Security group 1 should have access to security group 2 on some ports .. like 8080 or 80 or 8443 ....<br />Security group 2 should have access to security group 3 on some ports ... like 3306 (mysql)<br /><br />Normal instinct would say, let's put in the IP's of each machine ( 10.20.10.20/32 and 10.10.10.10/32) for example ... well ... in the AWS world, this isn't correct. &nbsp;When you restart your machine, the IP will change and your rules will not be valid. <br /><br />Now unfortunately, the way to get around this is not available through the AWS management console. &nbsp;The only way I've found so far (limited amount of looking) is to download the ec2 client tools, generate an X509 key pair, and use the tools:<br /><br />ec2-authorize <b>us-app</b> -P tcp -p <b>8080</b> -o <b>us-www</b><br /><br />What this does, is says that the security group "us-app" allows the origin "us-www" on TCP/8080<br /><br />You are defining the policies with other groups. &nbsp;This is great because you can then add new instances into whatever group you want, or restart an instance, and the policies will still be valid. <br /><br />Hopefully this is of use to someone one day. &nbsp;I'm glad I've stumbled upon it now after some small pain points and not later when the pain points would be much higher ....!<br /><br />-sd<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ComeToSasha/~4/p7lVPMFfftM" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Sasha Dolgyhttps://plus.google.com/106094347685237698945noreply@blogger.com1http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2011/03/security-groups-amazon-web-services-aws.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502408753016180600.post-53743902738174214682011-02-25T23:00:00.000+01:002011-02-25T23:00:13.996+01:00amazon web servicesfinally got around to jumping on the bandwagon and converting from a 1and1 customer over to amazon web services. &nbsp;let's be honest, $100usd a month versus less than 1% of that. &nbsp;it was a no brainer. &nbsp;to do my part in the IPv4 running out of IP issues, by moving, I've free'd up 3 IP's!<br /><br />oh well. a new chapter ... a single IP<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ComeToSasha/~4/xzn8fbTxsQo" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Sasha Dolgyhttps://plus.google.com/106094347685237698945noreply@blogger.com0http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2011/02/amazon-web-services.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502408753016180600.post-81547613852101327752011-02-14T19:36:00.001+01:002011-02-28T22:29:35.202+01:00PHP Sessions & Apache Cassandra<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">A week ago I had an idea to write an interface allowing PHP sessions to use Cassandra as a data store. &nbsp;<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;">A benefit I quickly found is that I could rely on Cassandra to expire the sessions and not PHP session garbage collection. &nbsp;nice. &nbsp;</span></span><br /><br /><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The code here and uses phpcassa as the interface to thrift. &nbsp;</span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"><script src="http://pastebin.com/embed_js.php?i=pKEKhCgg"></script></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Sessions were given their own column family, with the row key defined as the site name. &nbsp;each column is a session id with the column data being the session data. &nbsp;</span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Works a treat. &nbsp;Each time PHP session_start() is called, the expiry on the column resets back to the original value. &nbsp;So, if the expiry is set to 1 hour, it's 1 hour after the last session_start() was invoked. &nbsp;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Is this the right way to do it? &nbsp;Good question....</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ComeToSasha/~4/HCs45niD0b4" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Sasha Dolgyhttps://plus.google.com/106094347685237698945noreply@blogger.com0http://blog.sasha.dolgy.com/2011/02/php-sessions-cassandra.html